If what they say is true, you are a shadow in fourth dimension
by lonerism
Summary: In Mystic Falls, nothing is really infinite. The sun never lasts, people always come and go, and the dead can turn back undead. She's not really sure which one is him, though. (AU, Post 4x13)
1. Chapter 1

_if what they say is true, you are a shadow in fourth dimension_.

* * *

It wasn't something that Caroline wanted. It wasn't something that she has control of either. And it frustrated her. _Greatly._

Caroline was used to being in control. Sure, there was that time when she was stupid enough to fall for freaking _Damon Salvatore_ and was used and controlled by the maniac. But to her defense, he _compelled_ her. She was human, fragile and _weak_. Had compulsion not exist, she would have kicked the bastard right where it hurts the second he started being an asshole. She was the cheer captain, the head of almost every event committee in Mystic Falls, and she was practically the lady of the Forbes household—since she was the one who did almost all of the chores and basically ran the house. It was public knowledge that Caroline Forbes was a neurotic control freak. She loved to be the one that gives out orders and have things done the way she wants them to be. And that was why she was huffing and puffing all the way through her ride home that afternoon.

"_Caroline_," she heard him singing her name, breaking it down per syllable. She could swear to God that she just wanted to drive a stake through her heart every time the corner of her eyes caught sight of him, or every time her ears picked up his oh-so-annoying voice.

She didn't turn to face him, and instead focused her attention even more to the road in front of her. Her jaw was clenched tight. She really was not in the mood for this−for dealing with him. But he, apparently, had a different idea. Caroline could feel cold breeze blowing on the back of her neck, then it crept to her earlobe, and she tightened her grip on the steering wheel when he started to whisper in her ear.

"I know you can hear me, Caroline," he said, and from her peripheral vision she could see the smile tugging on his lips. "You're the only one who can," he continued.

"_Go. Away_."

She still insisted on not laying her eyes on him. Because seriously? She had had _enough_ with this. It might have only been two days, but this was _him _she was talking about. He was the better looking version of Damon Salvatore, only with a sexy accent. But still an ass, nonetheless.

Caroline loved control and she wanted that_ right this second_. She felt like she was ripped off of it ever since that dreadful morning in the Gilbert's house; the morning she first saw him.

It wasn't like she ever intended on being able to see things _no one_ was supposed to see. It wasn't like she was fond of the idea of being the only one who could see _Kol Mikaelson_—the dead _dead _Original—the super old, super powerful vampire Elena and Jeremy just killed. She couldn't make herself stop seeing and he just kept popping up out of nowhere and it was just _killing_ her.

She had fallen asleep after Klaus had fed her his blood the night before, healing her and yet again saving her from her ultimate death (though, _he_ was the one who sent her to her deathbed). The next morning she found herself waking up on the couch. Klaus was sitting across the room; he had his back to her and his posture was rigid. She didn't even see him taking breaths (well, it was unnecessary for vampires but she and her friends still did it out of habit). Caroline knew that he was aware she was awake, but he didn't make any move to turn to her and he didn't even say anything to acknowledge her presence either. It seemed like he was in his own personal bubble, and Caroline was outside of it. She decided to just leave, because really, she didn't know what to say. _Thank you for saving my life after you tried to kill me yourself_? And what if he brings up the topic of what she had said the night before? You know, about him being in love with her. She just wasn't ready to face it yet.

She was on her way to the front door when suddenly something appeared right in front of her. Or more like..._someone_.

Her eyes had bugged out for a moment, and she quickly shook her head as she repeatedly told herself that it was all in her mind. But he was still there—standing just as confident and graceful as he ever did, with a cocky smile painted across his face.

"Hello, Caroline," he had said.

.

/

.

She hit the brake violently, stopping the car abruptly.

"Why are you still here? What do you want from me?" She screeched. "We didn't even know each other that well when you were still alive..._ish_. Go bother your brother or something. I think he's crushed that you're dead _dead _now."

He chuckled at her outburst. She's cute when she's frustrated and angry, he concluded. Her hands made these wild gestures and her face was scrunched up in this adorable way. He kind of saw what Nik must have seen in her now. She truly had this fire in her, and Kol himself could see it very clearly now he'd had quite a few conversations with her (well, it was mostly him talking and her telling him off, but he still thought it counted for something).

"Caroline, darling," he replied calmly. "Believe me, I've tried. I've tried reaching out to my brother, and then my sister. I even went to Elijah! He's in Italy now," he mused. "I was surprised when I found out you could see me, though. I was as taken aback as you were when you saw me in the Gilberts' house."

"But that doesn't mean you can follow me around all the time!" She snapped

"Err...you might want to keep it down, Caroline. You are drawing attention," Kol gestured to the elderly couple that had came out from their house to see all the fuss outside. Caroline hadn't paid any attention to her surroundings when she stopped her car, and only now did she realize that she was parking in front of someone's driveway. Sending the couple an apologetic smile, she tried her best not to grimace when she saw the skeptical look they were sending her. She quickly restarted her car and took off.

"Why me?" She wept after stealing a glance to the passenger seat, where he _still_ sat nicely. Why did she have to be the one that was able to see him? What had she done to be condemned like this?

"Maybe it's because we were actually made for each other," Kol smirked. "And it's just God's way to keep us together, because fate had so cruelly torn us apart before we even had the chance to become one."

Dear God. _Where's that stake again?_

.

/

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	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

**First of all,**

**I'm so sorry for the slow update. I'm not even going to give out excuses for this. I can't promise I'll update faster, but I know I won't be abandoning this story.**

**And,**

** When I first wrote this, I never expected to get such a response. So I would like to thank everyone who has been reading, following, and putting this story to their favorites. I am thankful and I do appreciate you all!  
**

**Now, this one is also quite short. But I do hope you will enjoy it. **

**.**

**.**

* * *

_if what they say is true, you are a shadow in fourth dimension_

* * *

II.

...

"_Hi, it's Tyler. I'm not around at the time, so please leave your message—"_

Again. The same sentences repeated for what could be the hundredth time for the day alone. Caroline didn't know for sure. She had lost count of just how many times she had tried to contact Tyler and failed.

She cursed herself as she felt the tension building within her, putting an unbearable weight on her chest. She couldn't help either as it bubbled up to the surface, eliciting sobs she had tried so hard to prevent. It had been two days. Two days since Tyler had to leave town to get away from Klaus, two days since she last heard of him. Of course she missed him. They weren't that type of couple that had to meet everyday, but they always kept in touch with each other in some forms; texts, phone calls, email, _anything_ to let one know that the other was at least, okay. Okay, as in, still alive and breathing and _not killed by Klaus or his minions. _Caroline had no idea where Tyler was or if he was alive at all, and that's what left her distressed.

She wouldn't be Caroline if she wasn't stubborn, so as she wiped the tears that flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks, she picked up her phone and dialed Tyler's number once again. She finally lost it when she was once again directed straight to voicemail.

"No, no, _no_! Pick up the _damn_ phone! I am worried about you! At least give me some sign that you're still alive, somewhere," she said hopelessly, before ending the call. She fell back onto her bed carelessly, all the emotional events from the past few days had been draining the life (or what was left of it) out of her.

It was when she was wallowing in a pool of self pity, curling up into a ball in the comfort of her bed, that she felt his presence. She didn't have to turn around too check—she knew. She just knew for a fact that he was standing by her vanity table, frowning down at her as he readied himself to make another one of her day a living hell. _As if it wasn't already bad to begin with._

And no, it wasn't the sudden feeling of cold air tingling along her neck that gave it away, like how it always happened in the horror stories. She just _knew_. If she was about to put it Kol's way, she'd say it's as if they had some sort of connection. But they didn't, of course. They barely knew each other. It must be because she was a vampire and her senses were heightened and she could detect things humans couldn't.

She reached for a pillow, bringing it to her head to cover it and, efficiently, also to cover her ears so that she wouldn't have to hear his stupid voice and the stupid things he had to say again.

"Oh, come on," he said. _There it is!_ That's the voice she _dreaded_ to hear.

She pressed the pillow harder against her head, so that maybe—just _maybe_—the force would probably kill her brain cells and turn off her senses, including her hearing.

"It's a lost cause, you know. You're a vampire, Caroline. No matter how you cover your ears, like it or not, you'd still hear me," he added, still using the same sing-song voice like he did the day before, and the day before that.

He sounded condescending and smug, and there was nothing Caroline hated more than the combination of those two things.

"Go away, Kol!" she hissed, throwing the pillow in his direction. But of course, it went through him like he wasn't there at all and ended up hitting the vanity mirror, leaving a dent and a small crack there.

"My, my," Kol shook his head lightly in disapproval, arching his eyebrow at Caroline. "Aggressive, aren't we today?"

Caroline groaned in frustration. She was really, _really_ tired. Pulling the duvet up all the way to her head, she mumbled, "Why can't you just go away? I can't deal with you right now."

She swore she heard him sigh, almost in defeat, and it wasn't even a split second later that he was hovering above her, in the bed. Well, not like _that_. It was more like he was floating in the air, like a genie or something.

"I'm sure it will all be alright," he said when she pulled down the duvet, uncovering her face. She thought she saw sympathy in his eyes, but she could be seeing it wrong because her eyes were still burning after all the crying and it kind of blurred her vision.

There was a pregnant pause between them, and as the silence consumed her all Caroline could do was to stare at the man in front of her. When she saw the slight reflection of Klaus—the very man who had caused her misery—in him, Kol, she could feel the anger coming, but then she realized that Kol wasn't his brother.

The next time she spoke, her voice was small, but he could feel the venom lacing in her every word. "It's all your brother's fault," she said, "I hate him."

"I know," he replied softly.

She seemed to have given up on trying to shoo him away (as he was apparently as hardheaded as she was and was having none of it), and resolved to watch silently as he moved (or floated?) to the window. He stared at it, looking like he was concentrating really, _really_ hard. It was as if he was hoping to blow it with the power of his mind. She was about to mock him when suddenly, the window opened. A gush of air filled the room, blowing the crème-colored curtains. Caroline blinked at the sight before her, gaping at how odd it was.

"O...kay," she nodded. "It was a coincidence, wasn't it? The air was just blowing so hard that it forced the window open. It wasn't you opening it with your newfound magical power," she rationalized. Kol pouted in annoyance.

"It's not magic," he insisted. But then he thought about it for a second and shrugged. "Well, I don't exactly know what it is. But I _am _a _ghost_!" he elaborated, like it was the most obvious thing ever. He looked almost too happy about the whole thing, like a child that had just discovered his house had a secret passageway that could possibly contain a mystery and provide him a thrilling adventure.

He flashed over to her, making Caroline feel a little uncomfortable with the close proximity. "I mean, you know in those movies where the ghosts can make things move without even touching them?"

"But that's in movies," Caroline pointed out.

Kol clasped his hands together, then he leaned closer to her and said, "Suspend your disbelief, Caroline!" he said excitedly, waving his hands wildly in the air in a random motion.

When he still received the skeptic look from the blonde vampire, Kol looked around the room and decided to find an object that could help him turn Caroline into a believer. His eyes landed on the stack of papers on Caroline's desk. Once he locked his sight on it, he started to concentrate and soon the papers were flying in the air. He directed the flying papers toward the window, sending them out of the room. Caroline stared with her mouth agape, shaken because 1) Kol Mikaelson just did some serious telekinesis, and 2) the items he sent out of the window were her _English papers_ that were due the next day!

She dashed towards the window, looking out of it to see where her papers had landed. She sighed in relieve when she saw them lying on the front lawn, still clean and intact.

She turned to face Kol, glaring daggers at him. "That was my _homework_!" she yelled angrily.

He only smiled at her sheepishly. "Sorry," he apologized. "But that was cool, right?"

Caroline rolled her eyes at this. Noticing that she looked unimpressed, Kol decided he should give her another demonstration.

"Oh, look! That's Mr. Hudson!" he exclaimed, pointing to Caroline's middle-aged neighbor who was taking the trash away outside. A woman came passing the street, and he ogled her. Caroline cringed at the sight. As Mr. Hudson stared after the woman's retreating form (no doubt he was checking her butt), his dark hair (or should we say, wig?) mysteriously fell off, revealing his bald head. Both Caroline and Kol laughed at the old pervert's bewildered look.

"You got to admit, that was pretty fun, wasn't it?"

Caroline just nodded in agreement, bursting in another fit of laughter as Kol begin to 'fly' Mr. Hudson's wig around and the man so helplessly tried to chase it.

Kol turned to Caroline. "So, want to go downtown and have even more laugh?" he offered.

"Oh, yes. Absolutely," she nodded eagerly.

They looked at each other; both already had visions of their next 'targets.' At this, they snorted and simultaneously roared in laughter. They might sound evil, but then again, neither of them had really been an angel at the very beginning. Caroline could feel her cheeks starting to hurt by the amount of time she had retracted the muscles while she laughed, but she could care less. It didn't go unnoticed by her too, that it was also the first time she had laughed, in two days.


End file.
